Thursday, November 19, 2009

Well, I did well for my picks this week but there were only five of them so they didn’t help my over-all totals a whole lot. I am now at 47 for 78, or 60%.

There is very little going on this week. Since most every conference has their divisional and/or conference champs figured out, what’s left is a whole lot of pride games. Look to the Big 10 and the PAC 10 for some interesting games between teams that still have a lot to prove.

No. 10 Ohio State at MichiganThe Grandaddy of them all! The Big Game! The Great Rivalry! Unfortunately Michigan kind of sucks this year and Ohio State has inexplicably turned a loss to unranked Purdue into a Big 10 championship season. So, it would seem that the Buckeyes have an easy win over the Wolverines, but with a chance to spoil the Buckeyes season a little and salvage a bowl berth look to Michigan to come at OSU hard. I think on paper the Buckeyes should have an easy time Michigan, but rivalry games change everything. I’m going out on a long, skinny limb here, folks.Michigan 42 Ohio State 38

No. 8 LSU at MississippiThe SEC West is already decided; ‘Bama punched their ticket for Atlanta two weeks ago, but there is still a lot left to play for, and games like this are fertile territory for upsets. LSU is considered the 8th best team in the country and Ole Miss has had a disappointing season, but there isn’t much separating these two teams and if McCluster has even half the game he did last week against Tennessee LSU might have their work cut out for them. Because I have nothing to lose at this point, I’m rooting for the underdog.Mississippi 28 LSU 24

No. 14 Penn State at Michigan StatePenn State can’t win the Big 10. Michigan State can’t either, but MSU would love another notch in their belt and signature win to send them to a better bowl than where they’re going currently. And I think Dantonio’s Spartans can do it too as long as they don’t self-destruct. Playing at home should help…but not enough.Penn State 24 Michigan State 17

No. 16 Wisconsin at NorthwesternThis is another pride game in the Big 10. Northwestern is coming off two big wins in a row and would love to scrabble passed Wisconsin for a better bowl game and more respect in the B10. Wisconsin has shown they are capable of losing to worse teams and Northwestern has finally started to put it all together. I think the Wildcats might be able to win out.Northwestern 35 Wisconsin 28

No. 25 California at No. 17 StanfordThis is probably the game of the week since Stanford is pretty much neck in neck with Oregon for the PAC 10 title (and Stanford has the tie-breaker). Stanford can do nothing but keep winning and keep their fingers crossed for another Ducks loss. And both teams have a tough road ahead of them: Stanford has to play Cal and then Notre Dame, and Oregon has Arizona and Oregon State. Given the way the two programs have been playing recently I think Stanford has a better chance of winning out. I think Gerhart will steamroll another 200 yards this game, and put Golden Bears out of their misery.Stanford 52 California 32

No. 11 Oregon at ArizonaThis is the other big game in the PAC 10. Oregon has to win out in order to solidify their PAC 10 title, so I’m sure they will be feeling the heat at their backs the next two weeks. Arizona is a good team but I think it will be next week’s game that trips up the Ducks.Oregon 45 Arizona 28